Ethics (Foundations of Philosophy series) 2nd Edition

I'm sure this book is great if you're really smart. And if you're not really smart, Frankena will be sure to let you know that you aren't. Why can't phisophical books be written without the underlying, condescending voice that keeps telling you that you're of only average intelligence? The concepts in the book are good but it is difficult to under. It's also not much of a discussion piece for your book club.

Item arrived quickly and in great shape! After reading through this Ethics book, I can tell that you guys must have read through it as well. VERY ethical! :)

I've read some of Frankena's stuff and he's not all bad. But he makes a glaring mistake in his treatment of "teleological Ethics." He makes the same mistake in his entry in Dagoburt D. Rune's, "Dictionary of Philosophy." He shows NO understanding of teleology (i.e., it's about that category of causes termed "final causes"). He calls utilitarianism "teleological ethics" even though utilitarianism deals in effects (i.e., results) and teleology deals in causes (i.e., final causes). This mistake is not unique to Frankena. But it is regrettable to see another smart guy commit this glaring oversight.

Thumbs up

Boring textbook

I have read many introductory texts on ethics and moral theory. In my opinion, this is by far the clearest and most helpful of them all. Short and sweet.

I had the good fortune to study ethics with Professor Frankena at the University of Michigan. Later I used this book as a text when I taught college ethics. This book is a model of brevity and clarity in a philosophical world that seems to prize obfuscation. Although it cannot answer every question in the allotted space, this volume is an excellent introduction to ethics.

This small (98 pages) introductory volume to Ethics dates back to 1963. Frankena gives a good overview of a wide array of topics in a clear, simple and compact style. You can read the book in 2-3hrs. The chapter about the nonmoral good is the best one, but the others are good as well. But if you read it, you better supplement it with newer books as well since moral philosophy has come a long way since the publication of this. (This predates Rawls, Mackie, reappearence of naturalism and realism etc.)

At least they could have taken out the stickers out of the book

Ein Klassiker der analytischen Ethik Unbedingt im Original lesen - die Übersetzung von N., Hoerster unter dem Titel 'Analytische Ethik. 1994 ist mangelhaft.